[slideshow] Along with Apple’s refreshed Apple TV capable of 1080p video output, iTunes movies also got a bump up to 1080p with the introduction of iTunes 10.6. While there were some concerns over increased file sizes, iTunes users for the most part seem to be quite pleased with the quality of iTunes movies encoded in 1080p compared to the 720p they were stuck with before. On that note, Ars Technica decided to find out exactly how the 1080p movies compare to the same content on a Blu-ray....

Who Can Update to iOS 13.1? iOS 13.1 doesn’t support iPads. Instead, iPad users now use iPadOS. The iOS 13.1 update is specific to the iPhone and is compatible with the recently released iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Additionally, you can install the update on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, and iPod touch (7th generation)....

While it seems likely that Apple is intending to eventually establish iBeacon as a wireless electronic wallet system, rather than the existing NFC system commonly used in parts of Europe and Asia, a patent filing published today incorporates both protocols. It also allows for other forms of Bluetooth payment. The secure payment system Apple describes would work in much the same way as the chip-and-PIN cards which are well-established in Europe....

As Apple’s Finance department transitions into a new era under the watch of incoming CFO Luca Maestri, the team is seeking acquisition integration analysts. The new job position was posted earlier today on Apple’s job listings website. The listing is seeking an analyst who could examine companies acquired by Apple and assist in integrating that company’s resources into existing teams within Apple. The person will need to work on integration with the HR, Legal, IS&T, Real Estate, Operations, Finance, and Tax teams:...

Apple this week added over 30 more banks and credit unions to its list of those that support Apple Pay in the US. It also added an additional five countries that now support the service in Australia. Head past the break for the full list. The additions for Australia come as a report late last month questioned the fate of Apple Pay in the country, claiming that banks have been denied a request to negotiate with Apple as a group....

Following Apple’s decision to almost halve the price of the iPhone 5s in India, the Times of India states that the company has followed this by a more modest price-cut for the iPhone 6s/Plus. The move was reportedly made in response to a sales slump. Apple cut prices of its latest iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus […] just two months after their launch in India to boost flagging sales in what is historically its most crucial quarter as demand for the flagship devices nosedived from a Diwali high […]...

Apple is rolling out the fourth watchOS 3.1.1 beta for developers testing the pre-release software update for Apple Watch. watchOS 3.1.1 includes support for new Unicode 9.0 emoji as well as the ability to change skin tones when picking certain emoji characters. Release notes and version numbers for the latest builds have been published, and over-the-air downloads should follow shortly. [Update: OTA now available as well.] watchOS 3.1.1 is a minor release that follows the major release of watchOS 3....

[Update: Apple has also released the fifth iOS 11.3 public beta.] One week after the fourth developer beta, Apple has released iOS 11.3 beta 5 for registered developers to test on iPhone and iPad. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below. Beta 1 4 new Animoji on iPhone X: Lion, Skull, Bear, and Dragon ARKit 1.5 with support for vertical surfaces like walls, irregular shaped surfaces like circular tables, support for auto-focus, and 50% higher resolution Business Chat for iMessage in beta with Discover, Hilton, Lowe’s and Wells Fargo on board Health Records in Health app automatically updated from select partners More prominent music video features in Apple Music HomeKit software authentication without chip certification Advanced Mobile Location for sending your location to emergency services when calling from iPhone Messages in iCloud New privacy page during set up and a new Privacy icon in Settings (gray becomes blue) Splash screen for Messages in the Cloud, backup can be disabled in Settings iBooks is now just Books App Store lists version number and update size on Updates screen App Store following text size Hello, Feedback app… Apple TV shows up in Home app with tvOS 11....

Apple is out with a new update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch today, the official iOS 9.1 release. For most users, a collection of new emoji characters including a taco, unicorn, and yes, a middle finger is the most notable new feature within the update. Apple has also tweaked its three planetary wallpapers and developer support for Live Photos as well as improvements to the capture experience. As for those new emoji characters, you can check out our gallery here from during the beta period last month while you’re downloading the new update....

Apple has unveiled a host of new accessories today that weren’t given stage time at Steve Jobs Theater. The company has unveiled new cases for the iPhone, as well as new Apple Watch bands and a few new Beats products… Apple quietly released an updated version of the urBeats earbuds in the form of the urBeats3. These still proudly rock the 3.5mm headphone connection and you can get them for $99....

Apple has officially announced the availability of WatchKit, the software tools that developers will use for creating software for the Apple Watch coming in 2015. The company revealed last month that the SDK, or software development kit, would be released sometime this month. Apple says WatchKit enables developers to “create innovative WatchKit apps, actionable notifications and Glances, for timely information accessible by an easy, quick look at Apple Watch.” Additionally, resources within WatchKit reveal the screen resolutions for both Apple Watch sizes....

UPDATE: The software update is now available, AirPlay 2 is not available with this release and we haven’t noticed any changes yet Apple is releasing the first-ever software update for HomePod since its debut. The new software update comes alongside iOS 11.3 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. HomePod can be updated automatically or prompted through the Home app after updating to iOS 11.3. HomePod’s operating system is called “audioOS” internally, and is a variant of iOS....

Last year, Apple teamed up with the University of Michigan to launch the Apple Hearing Study, focused on examining factors that impact hearing health. Apple and the University of Michigan are now reaching to participants to inform them of a bug in the study app that caused historical data to be shared with Apple. Consent for those data types was necessary to help researchers understand the link between long-term sound exposure and its impact on hearing health....

Apple took their support discussions website down this morning and now it is back up. It’s not back up as support discussions, though. Apple has finally replaced their aging support discussions board website with Apple Support Communities. Products and services from Apple are now arranged by “community.” If you have questions, answers, or issues with a particular device, service, or anything Apple just find the related community and start doing whatever you came to do....

In an effort to keep up iPhone numbers ahead of a quarter in which Apple expects sales to drop year-over-year for the first time, Apple will encourage Apple Store employees to sell more iPhones through a new rewards program. Apple informed retail staff of the new program today, and it will take place between February 21st and March 26th, according to sources. The program’s goal is to push Apple retail employees to sell more iPhones by promising rewards and all-expense paid vacations to Cupertino, California to employees who sell the most iPhones in their region, according to sources....

Apple has made another valuable contribution to pandemic relief efforts with the ability to easily search for coronavirus testing centers on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac. Read along for how to find COVID-19 testing locations on Apple Maps. Apple has been contributing to COVID-19 relief from a lot of different angles including financial aid, creating and donating face shields, giving away masks, creating contact tracing software with Google, and more....

Apple Music executives are no strangers to public interviews and now, Trent Reznor has sat down with Vulture for a wide-ranging discussion. The conversation jumped between Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails life, his work at Apple Music and Beats, and more. Nine Inch Nails this week released a new EP called ‘Add Violence.’ Asked about whether his work with Beats and Apple had convinced him that “tech entrepreneurs are the new rock stars,” Reznor quickly put that idea to bed....

Update: Apple has now informed developers that they can submit iOS 9, El Capitan and watchOS 2 apps to the App Store. Three days later than the normal schedule, Apple is finally letting developers submit iOS 9 apps for review. Apple usually enables submission for apps built against the new SDK as soon as the Xcode GM is published but for unknown reasons, this milestone was delayed. Although there hasn’t been an official announcement, developers are now successfully uploading binaries through iTunes Connect and are ‘Waiting For Review’....

Alongside the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2, Apple at its event earlier this month quitely introduced a lineup of new Beats products. At the lower-end of the lineup were the BeatsX earphones, coming in at $149.95 with a launch this fall. Originally, Apple announced the wireless earphones in two color options of white and black, but Apple’s website now hints a trio of new colors that could be in the pipeline....

Some Apple services are experiencing issues – the company has acknowledged that iCloud and Photos are slow or currently unavailable. Apple says “some users are affected” by the outage. The iCloud status board lists iCloud Backup, iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, and Photos as facing issues right now. At the time of writing, the outage has been going on for about eight hours. We’ll update our coverage when Apple green lights all of these five services....